One Hit Wonder?

According to their website, "The 2007 Rocky Mountain Ultra Schedule is being finalized and will be released by March 15th".


Can I get a time check please?

Yup, its March 16th and we have no announcement of the 2007 Rocky Mountain Ultra Series.

I thought this series would gain momentum after the buzz it generated during its first year. I know that many folks I talked to told me they were at specific events last year because the events were part of this series. Selfishly, I love the idea of having a series of great endurance events within a 12 hour drive of my home. I should have a pretty firm race plan by this point but I really want to see if the RMU is going to happen for 2007 so I still feel as if I am in limbo. I am hoping they announce a bigger and better series with more race choices, promises of regular series standings updates, and something for the winners at the end of the year.

The big news here is riding outside...on a road bike! The roadside snow banks are melting fast and leaving us with dry roads and temps in the mid 40s to a possible 50F this weekend. I see a big road in my near future.

New Recruits

When our friends Rick & Joanne saw pics of our snow bikes back in January they expressed an interest in trying it out. These two helped get Michelle and I into mountain biking when we moved to Teton Valley so it only seemed right that we return the favor and introduce them to snow biking.

I was able to borrow a couple of Pugsleys for the day, thanks to Chris and Fitzy, and we met up with Rick & Joanne Sunday morning for a ride in the Big Holes. With forecasted highs in the mid forties we were a bit worried about slushy trails but timed it perfectly. It got down into the mid twenties the night before so the trail was firm and fast at the beginning and gradually softened up as the day went on. The last ½ mile was full of comedy as we all fishtailed down the slushy trail back to the trucks.

Outside of Alaska, most people think of the Pugsley as novelty or a bike that will get ridden a few times per year. In Teton Valley, ID / Jackson, WY, one can argue that the Pugs will see more trail time than a regular mountain bike. Most years we will be riding the snow bikes from Dec 1st through the end of March. We would be lucky to get four full months of dirt riding here due to the spring runoff and then early snows in the fall.

So what did they think? Five minutes into the ride Joanne said “I’m buying one Monday!” and Rick had a big grin every time I looked over. I think they are hooked.

Wilma's getting a makeover

Last summer when I was researching bike lights I knew that I wanted to put my money into LED technology because they are more durable, bulbs have a longer life span, and burn times are typically longer. The downside had always been brightness. The 12W Lupine Wilma was the brightest “off the shelf” LED I could find but also the most expensive. However, Lupine is the only light company I am aware of that builds their lights with upgrades in mind and this helped justify the cost.

Lupine just announced an upgrade for the Wilma that nearly doubles the lumens while not reducing burn time…and I can do the upgrade myself! Woohoo! The new Wilma will put out 830 lumens which is very close to their high-end HID light, the Edison, which puts out 900 lumens and has been the brightest HID around for a long time. Here are a few beam shots that I “borrowed” from the Lupine site:

12W Wilma LED old (420 Lumens)
15W Wilma LED new (830 Lumens)

16W Edison HID (900 Lumens)

I see the HID light market taking a swift kick to the crotch this year as other companies are releasing some very bright LEDs as well.

Riding indoors, grinding, and planning

The Fitzy's 07 Indoor Cycling Center season has come to an end. Let's have a moment of silence...ok, that's enough. I enjoy the guaranteed workout plus the social aspect of riding the Computrainers two nights a week and I am sorry it had to end so early this year. The reality is that the shop is getting busier every year and the Computrainer setup takes up valuable floor space. I will fill in the gaps with solo roller sessions or more snow bike rides depending on what the weather does.

We are entering that "in between" season here in Teton Valley where one day you might be able to ride out on the road and the next day you are watching it snow sideways through the front window while riding the rollers. Between now and the end of May it will be hit or miss but I am hoping for a bit more snow and then an abrupt end to winter so I can get out on the road bike.

I can't stop thinking about next year's snow bike races and I will continue to plan throughout the summer even as I am racing on the dirt. I keep thinking about footwear and the guys at 40below have some interesting options that I will be exploring.

This is the new 40below Light Energy Overboot. Being able to layer underneath this lightweight overboot to match the conditions is appealing and they are willing to do some custom work like adding a thicker sole to stand up to platform pedals.

I spent some quality time with a dremel tool and a drill in an effort to make a better mounting bracket for my Old Man Mountain Sherpa front rack. I don't like axle-based mounting system because it complicates transport and changing a tire on the trail. The new bracket keeps the rack as close to the tire as possible and doesn't interfere with removing the tire. Now that i have the basic design figured out I can clean it up a bit.

20 degrees and cloudy

Perfect snow biking weather! Michelle, Kenai, and I headed north to try a new piece of trail beginning at the Warm River Campground and linking up with the Mesa Falls trail. The new trail is great and follows the Warm River for about 3.5 miles as it gradually climbs to Bear Gulch. Even on a Saturday afternoon we had this trail all to ourselves.

The grade was nice and gradual and the temps were perfect. With all the snow we got this past week some spots were soft and slow but everything was rideable. Once we linked up to the Mesa Falls trail there was a bit more snowmobile traffic but it wasn't too bad and the trail gets wider. Several snowmobilers flipped quick u-turns to stop and check out our bikes and commented that snow biking looked cool. We even had one guy break out his video camera so he could show his buddies back in Salt Lake City what snow biking was all about. It was nice to have the positive interaction since snowmobiling is so big in this area.

We ended up doing a pretty big ride and were out for 3:40:00. The soft conditions made us earn every mile and my legs are feeling it today. The new trail along the Warm River was definitely the highlight and I had to snap a pic of this crazy sign.

The alpine skis are feeling neglected so we are off to the Ghee for some turns this afternoon.